John u



J. u. BARR. I HEADLIGHT FOR AUTOMOBILES 0R SIMILQR VEHICLES. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 15. I916 1,309,679 Patented July 15,1919.

v M 5] nvewtoz Q m KM, 61 45011404 q UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN U. BARR, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

HEADLIGHT FOR AUTOMOBILES R SIMILAR VEHICLES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN U. BARR, a citi- I zen of the United States, residin at New York, in the county and State of ew York, have made a certain new and useful Invention in Headlights for Automobiles or Similar Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to headlights for automobiles or similar vehicles.

The object of the invention is to provide a headlight for automobiles or similar vehicles, and to provide means associated therewith to eliminate the glare from the headlights to persons in advance of the same without, to any great extent, diminishing the amount or power of the light for lighting up the road ahead.

A further object of the invention is to provide means which are cheap, simple and efficient for breaking the light into small rays.

Further objects of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter.

The invention consists substantially in the construction, combination, location and relative arrangement of parts, all as will be more fully hereinafter set forth, as shown by the accompanying drawing, and finally pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing,-

Figure 1 is a View in side elevation, partly broken away, and in central longitudinal section of a headlight embodying my invent1on.

Fig. 2 is a similar view taken on the line 3, 3, Fig. 1 andlooking in the direction of the-arrows. I

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3, 3, Fig. 1, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

The same part. is designated by the same reference numeral wherever it occurs throughout the severalviews.

The desirability for strong headlights, for example on automobiles, and particularly when driving on country roads where there is little or no illumination, is well known and recognized. The great disadvantage and danger of such strong headlights, due

to the binding glare that the driver of an approaching car is subjected to, has also long been recognized and in several States Specification of Letters Patent. I

Patented July 15, 1919.

' Application filed November 15, 1916. Serial N... 131,472.

statutes have been passed to prohibit the use dimmer or glare reducer. On that account'a great many devices have been tried, but up to the present time no device has been wholly successful in eliminating the glare to the driver of the approaching car, and at th same time giving the required powerful light on the roa in advance of the headlights.

It is among the special purposes of my present invention to provide a headlight which by dividing the light into a great number of small rays before they strike the reflector, which I find, completely eliminates the concentrated glare in front of the headlight, but does not appreciably diminish the amount'of light emanated from the lamp and thrown in front of the car by the refiector.

In the drawing reference numeral 1 designates a conventional form of headlight as they, of themselves, do not form the sub-- ject matter of my present invention, and arial therefore shown merely diagrammatica y. I

The lamp 2 is held in its socket in any suitable'or desired manner, but in accordance with my invention, I surround the lamp 2 with a bell shaped screen 5, as showm The screen 5 may be mounted on the lamp in any desired manner, but I find a simple and ellicient way in so doing is to provide a split washer 6 to surround the base of the lamp, and place over the washer the body portion, or a thin metal strip formed at the head of the bell shaped screen, as shown at 7 A set screw 8, passing through the body of the metal portion 7, and bearing against the I find it desirable to make the screen 5 of such size that while it does not cover the front of the lamp, some portion of it is always between the lamp 2 and the reflector 3.

The screen 5 may be of any desired shape, size or material, but for the purposes of illustration, I have shown the screen as being of thin or close mesh wire. VVhileI have found that the closer the mesh of the wire, the more efficient the device is for eliminating the glare, I wish it to be understod that my invention, as defined in the claims, is not to be limited or restricted to the size of the mesh of the screen, its shape or material.

I Patent, is;-

1. In a headlight, the combination with a lamp and its reflector, of a wire mesh screen interposed between said lamp and said re flector.

2. In a headlight, the combination with a lamp and its reflector, of a wire mesh screen carried by said lamp and interposed between I said lampan'd said reflector.

3. In a headlight, the combination with a lamp-and its reflector, of a screen of foraminous material interposed between said lamp and said reflector.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this 6th day of November, A. 1).,

JOHN U. BARR. 

